The present invention relates generally to aircraft enclosures, and more particularly relates to an aircraft cabin lavatory and compartment formed in a wall therein.
Anyone who has used an aircraft lavatory can attest to the fact that there is a limited amount of space available for anything, much less stowage. Although the space inside the lavatory is minimal at best, in many aircraft fuselage arrangements the construction and position of the lavatory leaves certain unused space just outside the walls, space that end up serving no useful purpose. This is partly a result of the aircraft's need to allow passenger's seats to be reclined, or simply to accommodate the last row of seating adjacent the lavatory. Because utilization of available space is critical to the performance, comfort, and maintenance of an aircraft, the more unused space that can be converted to useful space like stowage compartments, the more efficient the aircraft will be. The inventors of the current invention have devised a novel way to increase the usable space on the aircraft without loss of useful space in a lavatory.
In a commercial aircraft, a lavatory has a minimal footprint that is typically the width of a door, plus the area taken up by the sink and commode. A sink takes up a large portion of the space in a lavatory, as is necessary to capture a flow of water when washing of hands, etc. Above the sink is either a wall or a mirror, and a small drawer or cabinet may be provided for minimal supplies, tissue, soap, paper towels, and the like. In many cases, the area below the sink of an aircraft lavatory serves as a storage compartment in the aircraft, which may store life vests, emergency supplies, or other aircraft items used by the flight attendants. However, the present invention takes advantage of the area behind the wall to create a new storage area accessible adjacent the door of the lavatory.